Guide to the Papers of Colin Madigan
MS 9863
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Madigan, Colin
- Title
- Papers of Colin Madigan
- Date Range
- 1900 - 2002
- Collection Number
- MS 9863
- Extent
- 27.8 metres (27 ms boxes + 7 medium folio boxes + 9 large folio boxes + 7 outsize phase boxes + 3 elephant folios + 4 map folios)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- Special Collections (Manuscripts)
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The papers comprise correspondence, plans, drawings, reports and photographs, the majority of which were produced by Madigan in the pursuit of his architectural work.
The drawings and plans are from all periods of Madigan's creative life including his earliest student drawings. Some of Madigan's most important architectural projects are well documented in the papers, particularly his work on the National Gallery of Australia.
The only material not related to Madigan's architectural work is the series covering his war service and the sinking of the HMAS Armidale in 1942.
Within the plans series there are also a number of drawings and plans produced by Frederick Madigan, Colin Madigan's father, and correspondence and other papers relating to a proposed biography of Madigan by Geoffrey Serle.
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn759843).
Conditions Governing Use
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Preferred Citation
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Colin Madigan, National Library of Australia, MS 9863, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The papers were donated to the National Library of Australia by Colin Madigan under the Cultural Gifts Program in five instalments between 1997 and 2003.
Related Materials
There are two other collections related to Madigan's work within the Manuscripts section of the National Library of Australia:
From concept to realisation : a review of the landscaping of the High Court of Australia and the National Gallery of Australia / by Harry Howard and Barbara Buchanan, landscape architects for the project (MS 9622)
Powell, A. J. W. (Anthony John Walker). Papers, 1972-1984 (MS 8404). Powell was Commissioner of the National Capital Development Commission, 1973-1985.
The National Archives of Australia holds papers relating to Madigan's Parliament House competition entry.
Arrangement
The papers have been ordered into 14 series in relation to the form or subject of the material. Where there was an order established by Madigan within any series, that has been largely maintained.
Biographical Note
Colin Madigan was born in 1921 in Glen Innes, NSW. His father, Frederick John Madigan, also an architect, had a practice in Inverell at which Madigan began working as an assistant at 14 years of age. Madigan began studying architecture at Sydney Technical College in 1939. However, he interrupted his studies during the Second World War by enlisting in the Royal Australian Navy, in which he served until 1946. In December 1942 he survived for ten days in open seas after the sinking by Japanese military forces of his ship HMAS Armidale. Madigan qualified as an architect in 1950 and in 1954 became a principal within the architectural firm of Edwards Madigan Torzillo, later named Edwards Madigan Torzillo Briggs International or EMTBI. A number of buildings produced by the firm EMTB received architectural awards, including the Sulman Prize in 1966 and 1970.
Madigan designed a number of houses, but worked between 1950 and 1967 predominately on a range of public buildings including libraries and colleges. The major projects he worked on, completed between 1968 and 1982, were the National Gallery of Australia and the High Court of Australia, both of which are in the Parliamentary zone of Canberra.
Madigan commenced work on the High Court of Australia after its designer Christopher Kringas (of Edwards Madigan Torzillo & Briggs) died in March 1975, just prior to the start of construction in April 1975.
Working on these two buildings, Madigan became particularly interested and involved in the planning and design of the entire Parliamentary zone. In the 1980s he was a finalist in the Parliament House competition and worked on a Parliamentary Zone Development Plan. From 1982 he also served on the National Capital Planning Committee and lectured and corresponded widely on the subject of Canberra.
Madigan won a number of architectural awards and was RAIA Gold Medallist in 1981. After declining a C.B.E, he was created an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1984.
Madigan married Ruby Court-Rice in 1950. They had one son, Guy.
Item Descriptions
Series 1. Military service and the sinking of the HMAS Armidale, 1944-2001
Correspondence, articles and autobiographical works concerning Madigan's survival of the attack upon and sinking of the HMAS Armidale by Imperial Japanese forces in December 1942. In 1992 Madigan was involved in planning a commemorative service for the crew of HMAS Armidale and later worked on a memorial and commissioned a series of paintings by Jan Senbergs on the subject.
Much of the correspondence relates to the publication of the newspaper article : 'Sunk without trace' by Don Watson (Good Weekend : the Sydney Morning Herald magazine, Nov. 13, 1999, pp.50-54) and the book: Armidale '42 : a survivor's account, 1999. Correspondents include Rex Pullen, Don Watson, Jan Senbergs, and Frank B. Walker.
Madigan's confidential LORAN (Long Range Navigation) Notes, two newspaper cuttings mentioning Madigan dated, 1944 (File 1) - Box 1
Draft copy of The Armidale diary, 1988 and a newspaper clipping from The Sun 13/02/1975 (File 2) - Box 1
Correspondence relating to the sinking of HMAS Armidale and the 50th anniversary memorial service, two drafts of The Aridale diary, and copies of Corvette 1988-1997 (File 3) - Box 1
HMAS Armidale – preliminary sketches developed on overseas journey Sketches, original and photocopies for the book Armidale '42, and typescript ANZAC address by Frank B. Walker, 1989-1998 (File 4) - Box 1
Correspondence relating to the survivors of the sinking of HMAS Armidale, 1991-1992 (File 6) - Box 1
Including typescript dated April 2 1945 of article 'We lost a corvette' by R. M. Caro.
Correspondence relating to a memorial service and memorial plaque for the survivors of the sinking of HMAS Armidale, correspondence with the Naval Association of Australia Darwin Section and Jan Senbergs, 1991-1997 (File 7) - Box 1
Correspondence relating to the sinking of HMAS Armidale, draft of Don Watson's Armidale '42 contribution, correspondence with Jan Senbergs, copies of sketches and a draft copy of The Armidale diary, 1991-1999 (File 8) - Box 1
Correspondence relating to the 50th anniversary memorial service for the survivors of the sinking of HMAS Armidale. Includes drafts of memorial addresses, copies of Corvette, 1992-1993 (File 9) - Box 1
Correspondence relating to the sinking of HMAS Armidale, a memorial service and memorial plaque for the crew of HMAS Armidale, correspondence with the Royal Australian Navy Corvettes Association, copies of Corvette, seven photographs of ships and artworks, 1991-2001 (File 10) - Box 1
Newspaper cuttings on the sinking of HMAS Armidale and the commissioning of HMAS Sheean, 1991-2001 (File 11) - Box 1
Correspondence and drafts relating to a memorial plaque to commemorate the sinking of HMAS Armidale, 1996-1999 (File 12) - Box 2
Correspondence with the Royal Australian Navy Corvettes Association relating to the survivors of the sinking of HMAS Armidale, correspondence relating to the commissioning of HMAS Sheean, 1996-2001 (File 13) - Box 2
Copy of Good Weekend : the Sydney Morning Herald magazine, Nov. 13, 1999, containing the article by Don Watson, 'Sunk without trace', pp.50-54 (held in Folio Box 1) (File 14) - Folio-Box 1
Series 2. National Gallery of Australia, 1966-2002
Madigan as principal within EMTBI won the competition to design the National Gallery in 1968 and had oversight of the work until the opening of the Gallery in 1982. After completion of the building, Madigan continued to have links and dealings with the Gallery's administration, particularly in 2001 when he sought to defend his artistic moral rights when the Gallery was considering renovation work.
The series comprises correspondence, plans, drawings, clippings, brochures and reports. The majority of the correspondence is with, and most reports were prepared for, the National Capital Development Commission.
National Capital Development Commission. Fifteenth Annual Report, 1971-1972 (File 1) - Box 2
Includes 2 page list by Madigan of documents held relating to the National Gallery of Australia.
Design report (File 6) - Box 3
Bound with the report is a lecture given by Madigan to the Power Institute of Fine Arts, University of Sydney
National Capital Development Commission. Architectural brief for the design of the National Gallery of Australia, 14 Aug. 1970 (File 11) - Box 4
National Capital Development Commission. Architectural brief for the design of the National Gallery of Australia, 15 Nov. 1971 (File 12) - Box 4
National Gallery of Australia : an inventory of effects : registration documents, [1971] (File 17) - Box 5
Design report, draft Architects report
Bound file on building and combined services interleaved with correspondence and clippings (File 23) - Box 6
Includes drawings, reports and speech, 1976-1977
Reports, 1976-1977 (File 25) - Box 7
Architects report no. 2; Design evaluations: acoustics, finishes, steelwork
Correspondence and reports, 1979 (File 30) - Box 8
Traffic pattern, lighting. Construction management. Renegotiation of fee (report dated 1979, correspondence mostly 1975-1976)
Correspondence and reports, 1979-1980 (File 31) - Box 8
Subjects include: car parks, ceilings, tiles and lighting
Correspondence and reports, 1980-1981 (File 35) - Box 8
Subjects include: displays, kiosk and gardens
Series 3. High Court of Australia, 1970-1991
Madigan was a principal of the architectural firm EMTBI, which won the design competition for the High Court building. The design team was led by EMTBI Director Christopher Kringas, assisted by Feiko Bouman, Rod Lawrence and Michael Rolfe. Kringas died in March 1975, just prior to the start of construction in April 1975. Madigan then had oversight of the work until its opening in 1980.
Correspondence, plans, drawings, clippings, brochures and reports. The majority of the correspondence is with, and most reports were prepared for, the National Capital Development Commission. Other correspondents include Sir Garfield Barwick
Design Competition Assessors report, September 1973 (File 3) - Box 10
Bound within is also the Assessors Report naming EMTBI as the winner of the National Gallery of Australia competition and papers relating to Madigan's role as chairman of the Sulman Prize jury for 1968
High Court, 1974-1981 (File 7) - Box 10
Newspaper clippings, articles, photocopies of photographs, brochures and drawings
High Court, 1977 (File 8) - Box 10
Correspondence and reports concerning Court forecourt, ramp/waterfall, production by contractor of co-ordination drawings
High Court, 1977-1978 (File 9) - Box 11
Correspondence and reports concerning completion date, north wall, sun shading and glazing
Series 4. Parliament House Competition, 1978-1980
An international architectural design competition for the new Parliament House was announced in 1979. Of the 329 entries received, five designs, including Madigan's, were accepted into the second stage of the competition. The winner, Richard Thorp of the American based Mitchell Giurgola firm, was announced on 26 June 1980.
Series comprises plans, drawings and brief for Madigan's entry for the Parliament House competition
Series 5. Parliamentary Zone Development Plan, 1981-1984
In 1984, Madigan was contracted to compose a development plan for the Parliamentary Zone, the area of Canberra in which resides Parliament, the High Court, National Gallery and Old Parliament House
Series comprises plans, correspondence and briefs towards the 1984 Development Plan. The correspondence is primarily with Tony Powell, the staff of the National Capital Planning Committee and the National Capital Development Commission.
Series 6. Tuggeranong College and Town Centre Library, 1985-1989
Series contains plans, briefs and correspondence for this joint college and public library facility on the shore of Lake Tuggeranong, Canberra.
Series 7. Miscellaneous architectural projects
Series contains plans, drawings, reports and correspondence for a range of architectural projects from single homes to city blocks.
Hill Houses (Collaroy): Proposal study, 1969 (File 1) - Box 17
'A site planning study for a proposed tourist and recreation centre at Bayview on the Pittwater', 1969
Warringah Shire Civic Centre and Library, 1966-1971 (File 2) - Folio-Box 1
Drawing, photographs, clippings
'A master plan for the provision of Commonwealth offices at Woolloomooloo', [1970] (File 5) - Box 17
Museum Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, 1979-1981 (File 8) - Box 18
Photographs, plans, proposal and letter from the architect of the building, Tony Stapledon. Also includes a short guide to the West Australian Art Gallery
Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) Arts/Maths Dept. and common teaching facilities. Briefs and plans, 1982-1983 (File 10) - Box 19
Sports Science/Sports medicine building, National Institute of Sport (later Australian Institute of Sport): Submission, reports and plans, 1983 (File 12) - Box 19
House in Geerilong Gardens, Reid (A.C.T): Specification for alterations and additions, 1983 (File 13) - Box 19
Series 8. Plans, drawings and awards, 1906-1990
Plans, architectural drawings and certificates. In folio box 2 is an incomplete list of plans/drawings provided by Madigan. There is additional material in Series 9, Folio 17, and in Elephant folios 18-23.
Series 9. Photographs, 1940s?- 1990
The majority of photographs and slides were taken by Colin and Guy Madigan, with a number by David Moore and a smaller amount by Max Dupain. The photographs are all of architectural subjects, primarily of Madigan's buildings in various stages of construction and once completed. There are also photographs of building interiors, plans and models. There is additional material in elephant folio 24.
Photographs and slides taken by Madigan during his overseas tours of other cultural institutions as part of the National Gallery of Australia design process (File) - Folio-Box 14
Series 10. Talks and Lectures, 1971-1988
Madigan gave a number of lectures on his architectural work and theories. There are a number of drafts of these lectures both within this series and in the autobiographical files (Series 12).
Annotated drafts, speeches and talks given by Madigan. Also included is correspondence relating to the speeches and articles collected by Madigan and produced by others.
Miscellaneous lectures/articles by others, 1971-1985 (File 1) - Box 20
Includes articles and correspondence from Professor Jennifer Taylor. Also contains a talk given by Madigan on his designs for ADFA
Lectures and talks, 1976-1983 (File 3) - Box 20
Drafts of ICCM conference, Canberra, 1976 and R.A.I.A talk, Sydney, 1982
Lectures and talks, 1976-1985 (File 4) - Box 21
Articles on Walter Burley Griffin and the text of Madigan's 1983 Burley Griffin Memorial Lecture
Lectures and talks, 1977-1979 (File 5) - Box 21
Drafts of papers given to architectural students at the University of New South Wales
Talks, articles and papers by others, 1980-1982 (File 6) - Box 21
Papers by Renato Giacca, John Ferris, and A.S. Hook Memorial addresses
Series 11. Miscellaneous files, 1969-1997
Correspondence and draft correspondence, catalogues, brochures, reports, journals and press clippings. Correspondence includes Madigan's references for fellow architects work and grant applications, and in relation to Madigan's publications.
Series 12. Autobiographical files, 1950-1997
The series consists of papers, compiled by Madigan, which were originally held in a set of large lever arch files. Most of the files had 'History' on the spine. The papers contain a range of material giving an overview of Madigan's professional life.
Photographs, slides, drawings and plans (File 1) - Box 22
Relating to: Citibank; Hong Kong Performing Arts ; Layout for Architecture Australia; Warringah Civic Centre; Work at Inverell; Wollongong Workers Club; Early houses; House at Narrabeen; UNSW Roundhouse; Orange Civic Centre; NSW Tourist Bureau; N.Z. Tourist Bureau; Warren Shire Library
Drawings, newspaper clippings, photographs, slides, talks, published material and correspondence (File 2) - Box 23
Relating to: National Gallery of Australia ; Sydney Philosophy Club; Parliament House competition; Warringah Civic Centre.
Correspondence, notes, text and articles and photocopies (File 3) - Box 23
Relating to: Art and Australia article on domestic architecture; Mitchell College of Advanced Education, Bathurst; Australasian Architecture Students' Association convention 1970; Warringah Shire Library; RIBA journal, January 1971; Letter of protest by Ruby Madigan.
Correspondence, notes, articles, slides and newspaper clippings (File 4) - Box 23
Relating to: National Gallery of Australia; Marriage of Guy Madigan; Warringah Shire Library
Correspondence, notes, speeches and drafts (File 5) - Box 23
Relating to: Royal Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal , 1981; A.S. Hook Memorial Lecture, 1982; Architecture Australia; Royal Australian Institute of Architects lecture, November 1980; University of New South Wales lecture, June 1977; ICCM Conference, May 1976
Correspondence, notes, photographs and plans (File 6) - Box 24
Relating to: Royal Australian Institute of Architects; Sulman Award winning designs; Development of The Rocks area of Sydney, 1982-1983; Crossways project – Sydney, 1987; First Government House Site; Chifley Square, Hunter Street, Sydney.
Correspondence, newspaper clippings, notes, speeches and drafts (File 7) - Box 24
Relating to: University of New South Wales lecture, June 1977; National Capital Planning Committee; EMTB brochure; Parliament House competition; Transcript of a 3LO radio programme featuring Harry Seidler and Norman Day.
Correspondence, newspaper clippings, notes, speeches, drafts, photographs and postcards (File 8) - Box 25
Relating to: Development of The Rocks area of Sydney, 1982-1983; Drafts of letters to the Sydney Morning Herald; Roger Johnson retrospective exhibition; Public architecture lecture, September 1991; Warringah Shire Library; Art Museum Association of Australia/Art Association of Australia conference lecture, August 1983; 'Architectural allegiances to the present age or Go back your going the wrong way', lecture, October 1989; National Gallery of Australia; Postcards sent by Colin Madigan to EMTB whilst he was overseas, 1978-1981; Tusculum dedication, February 1988; Royal Australian Institute of Architects lecture, November 1980; Slides of HMAS Armidale ceremony; Negatives of photographs of Colin Madigan
Correspondence, newspaper clippings, notes, speeches, drafts, photographs and postcards (File 9) - Box 25
Relating to: Offer of appointment to Commander of the most excellent Order of the British Empire (C.B.E), 1982; Appointment to the National Capital Planning Committee, 1982; Travel itinerary for National Gallery of Australia overseas study tour, 1978; National Gallery of Australia skirting, 1977; High Court of Australia waterfall; Correspondence concerning allegations of waste on overseas study tour, 1978; A.S. Hook Memorial Lecture, 1982; Royal Australian Institute of Architects lecture, November 1980
Sulman Award, 1967 (File 10) - Box 26
Correspondence and clippings; Correspondence congratulating Madigan for winning the 1966 Sulman Award (announced June 1967) for the Warringah Shire Library
Royal Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal, 1981 (File 11) - Box 26
Correspondence congratulating Madigan for winning the Gold Medal and Madigan's draft replies
Order of Australia, 1984 (File 12) - Box 26
Correspondence congratulating Madigan on his being made an Officer of the Order of Australia. Correspondents include: Franca Arena, Neville Wran, James Mollison, Sir Asher Joel, Betty Churcher, Kenneth Myer and Harrison Bryan
Early history of EMTB (File 13) - Box 26
Papers on the history of EMTB, includes some drawings produced for Ashton, Tyler & Edwards, the firm for which Edwards and Madigan worked for prior to the formation of EMTB (Note: on the reverse of one of the drawings is a drawing for a church produced for or by F. J Madigan, 1938).
Series 14. Frederick John Madigan, 1906-1921
Colin Madigan's father, Frederick John Madigan was also an architect practicing at Glen Innes and Inverell. This series contains examples of his work (drawings and plans produced by F.J. Madigan are in Series 8, Plans).